


Where Your Destiny Lies (Dancing on the Blades)

by orphan_account



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Fluff, Ice Skater!Minseok, Ice Skating, Light Angst, M/M, Office Worker!Baekhyun, Sappy, Some attempts at humor, Sort Of, blind dates, don’t read if you know anything about ice skating, xiubaek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-20
Updated: 2019-01-20
Packaged: 2019-10-13 14:04:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17489396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: The only thing that Minseok can think as he falls, crushing his ankle and nearly slicing his shin with the blade of his skate, is fuck.





	Where Your Destiny Lies (Dancing on the Blades)

**Author's Note:**

> before i say anything else, the biggest thank you and i love you ever to jj!!!!!! without you i’m certain this fic would’ve been left to rot in my drafts. you helped a shit ton!!! thank you for proofreading and supporting and helping me through this!!!! you’re the best <3 (support her btshabet on ao3 and shes the best and i LOVE HER)
> 
> PS yes, the title is from history maker from the yoi soundtrack, sue me
> 
> PPS don't read this if you know anything about skating, i said it in the tags and i mean it fr

The only thing that Minseok can think as he falls, crushing his ankle and nearly slicing his shin with the blade of his skate, is _fuck_ . And when he can’t stand up, can’t lift himself off the ice, when Jinki rushes over to help him and drag him off the rink and into his car, he thinks, _fuck this. Fuck this, fucking seriously._

One shitty double Salchow is all it takes to bring him down, and that’s the worst part of it. Yeah, his leg hurts and looks pretty fucking gnarly, and it sucks that he can’t compete this season, even if his injury does heal before it starts, since there’s no time to practice. The fact that it was one jump—a jump that every fumbling 12 year old skater can pull off if they try hard enough—that knocked him off his feet to the point that he couldn’t get up made Minseok almost want to scream.

The only positive thing about this is that it happened during a practice. None of the embarrassment that would come with fucking up that terribly in a competition. So there’s one thing to be thankful for.

Jongdae visits him on the day he’s scheduled to discharge from the hospital after his surgery. Minseok makes a mental note to call and thank his sponsors for taking care of most of the medical bills. Seriously, those old rich women are godsends.

“So,” Jongdae starts, Minseok knows that scheming tone all too well. “Since you are on hiatus, you have time now, right?”

“Yeah,” Minseok says. He knows where this is going, and he no longer has any excuse to reject it. Before it was _oh, I’m too busy, can’t get distracted!_ but now Minseok has nothing else to do, he’s so not busy that he’d kill to be forced into nine-hour off-rink practice again.

“Can I please set you up with someone? Pretty please?” His friend makes puppy eyes, sticks out his bottom lip in an ugly pout. “I have this one friend that I really think you would like!”

“How do you have friends?” Minseok teases, earning an exaggerated gasp from Jongdae. “Fine, okay, whatever. Did you sabotage me into breaking my ankle because you knew I would have no way out of this if I did?” 

“You did that all on your own, buddy. But, I can’t deny that I’m a little happy with this outcome. So, you ready to get home?” He offers a soft smile, which Minseok returns.

“I’ve been ready since the second I fell, man.”

  
  


Minseok quickly realizes that he has no life outside of skating. No friends besides Jongdae, Jinki, and a few other skaters that he keeps in touch with from time to time. He doesn’t talk to any of his family besides his brother when he’s not busy being a dad and all. He hasn’t been in a relationship since he signed his contract with his first coach, Hyukjae, four years ago. Skating, training, practicing, traveling for international competitions, et cetera, have taken up so much of his life that he didn’t have time to do anything but sleep on the days he _did_ get rest. It’s sad because he’s almost 25 and he’s had half the experiences any other person his age has.

And of course he wakes up at 5AM—the first time in months because lately he was anything but punctual—and can’t go back to sleep at all. His ankle is fucking killing, like a constant shooting pain right through his leg and foot. He can’t walk, not without his crutches, anyway, so he sits on his bed and watches recordings of old programs, his own and others’. Because even when he gets away from skating he can’t pull himself away from it completely.

He’s about to watch Zhang Yixing land a perfect triple axel when a text notification pops up from an unknown number. He sighs, pauses the YouTube video and opens his messages app to see an entire paragraph from this person.

_“Hey! I’m Baekhyun, Jongdae’s friend. He told me to text you to set up a date whenever you’re available. I was thinking we could just grab dinner, if that’s alright with you? Or, we could do something else, but Jongdae said you can’t walk much because of something with your leg, right? So. I don’t know, but get back to me whenever you can! Sorry for texting so early, if you’re woken up by this just go straight back to sleep!”_

Jongdae gave some perky dumbass his phone number. Great. He sighs and replies to the message with a simple, _“Dinner sounds great, Saturday at 7? You choose the place, I’m not picky.”_

He should at least be able to move around more by then, and it gives him a few days to pester Jongdae for information on this complete—well, maybe not complete, since Minseok has his name—stranger that he had given his number to. Seriously, he expected Jongdae to maybe introduce them in person, rather than this. But he thinks, _it’s okay. This is good, actually. You’re living life, going on blind dates like any other almost 25 year old._ And maybe he’s not as annoyed by Jongdae’s actions, _maybe_. This could be fun.

  
  


Saturday rolls around faster than Minseok expects. He’s become better at moving around with his crutches, thankfully, no longer struggling to take steps. He still has to ask his neighbour—the poor college student, Jeongyeon, he thinks—if she’ll help him down the stairs of the apartment. He offers $5, which she accepts and pockets pretty much immediately.

After that horrible, embarrassing interaction, Minseok is finally at the entrance of his apartment. Baekhyun told him to wear something casual, since they weren’t going anywhere fancy. Minseok still has no idea _where_ they are going, but he’s a bit thankful for Baekhyun’s words because he’s certain he would’ve died trying to put on anything nicer than jeans and a sweater.

When Baekhyun shows up, in his small, chrome silver car, Minseok realizes just how breathtaking he is. He’s seen one, maybe two pictures of him, thanks to Jongdae giving in to his pleading, but this is… different, somehow. As he’s raking in all of Baekhyun’s features, his smile and big cheeks and slender hands that are holding onto the leather wheel of his car so nicely, Baekhyun begins to get out of the car.

“Nice to meet you in person. You can put the crutches in my backseat,” he says. _His voice,_ Minseok’s mind supplies helpfully.

Minseok nods and watches as Baekhyun holds the door open for him to climb in. He does, awkwardly backing up until he can feel the vehicle against the back of his leg, then sliding himself onto the seat, being mindful of his ankle. Baekhyun smiles when he’s made it into the car successfully, closing the door and making his way back to the driver’s seat.

“So,” Baekhyun starts, punching something into the GPS, “I’m gonna take you to this little restaurant. It’s like, Japanese, Chinese, and Korean all in one. It’s really relaxing, though, so I thought it would be a nice atmosphere for a first date rather than some fancy place with cloth napkins and old people glaring at us.”

“That sounds great,” Minseok says. “I was a little afraid that you’d take me to some $20 per dish place, so that’s amazing.”

“Even if I did, I’d be paying,” Baekhyun replies, a teasing lilt in his voice.

Minseok is, surprisingly, very comfortable with Baekhyun. He’s accommodating to Minseok’s injuries, he’s really nice, and not to mention he’s incredibly handsome. Maybe Jongdae was right to do this. 

The restaurant is very cozy, string lights and pretty polaroids hanging from the walls, comfortable light grey seats with small tables between them. It’s the _perfect_ atmosphere for a first date. As they sit, Minseok can _feel_ the nervous energy radiating from Baekhyun. He’s kind of jumpy, the type to ramble because he’s not sure where his sentences are going when he starts them, but it’s cute. Minseok gives him a sweet smile, hoping to calm Baekhyun’s nerves even a little bit. It looks like it works, with the way Baekhyun’s shoulders relax.

“I hope you don’t mind me asking, but how did you hurt your ankle?” he asks, still a bit timid. Minseok cannot wait for when he lets go of that nervousness.

“I’m surprised you didn’t ask sooner,” Minseok says, quietly chuckling so that Baekhyun doesn’t feel intimidated or like he’s done something wrong. “I’m sure Jongdae told you, but I’m a figure skater. A professional one. And I was doing this one jump—it’s easy, kind of basic, even—and I think I got distracted, landed really badly on my ankle and nearly sliced my shin open.”

Baekhyun makes a face at that last detail. “That sounds, like, insanely painful. And Jongdae didn’t tell me about what you do for work, actually. You’ll have to take me to skate when you’re healed up.”

Presumptuous, but Minseok has a feeling that that might just happen.

“That’s weird, usually he’s bragging about it to anyone that will listen. And I definitely will, Baekhyun. What do you do?”

Baekhyun sighs, tilts his head slightly. “My job is… it’s kind of boring, honestly. Nowhere near as awesome as figure skating. I’m an accountant for an office supply chain. Basically, I get 50% off on all printers and ink cartridges, so, you know, hit me up.”

Minseok laughs at that, then says, “my job is about as awesome as yours at the end of the day. I think I’m just eternally sore from practicing the same routines over and over again. And it’s nice to have stability, isn’t it?”

“I suppose,” he replies with a smile. “It really is a shame about your leg, I’d like to see you skate one day soon.”

“I’ll be able to in 3 months or so. Plus, I have videos, I can send them to you later. For now, I think I’m going to die of hunger.”

When the date ends—blame the restaurant’s closing time, Minseok could’ve done that for a few more hours—, Baekhyun drives Minseok home and offers to help him up the stairs, then kisses his cheek when they get to the door. Minseok tries and fails to hold back a grin.  


 

 

Jinki—although clearly disappointed at the missed opportunities of this season—still manages to be his kind-hearted self when Minseok updates him on his recovery. Even if the update is less than amazing, like when Minseok’s doctor tells him that he’ll have to keep his cast on for another week longer than he originally thought. Jinki sighs, but tells Minseok that it’s alright, his health matters more than any medals they could’ve won. Minseok calls him a cheesy dumbass.

He’s glad to have the relationship with his manager that he has, since a lot of other skaters’ managers are rather sour and rude. He’s lucky, really. He realizes that again every time another skater complains about their manager’s dickish tendencies.

His coach, the retired champion Lee Taemin, is a bit more intense. Like, putting Minseok through 15 hours of practicing, that kind of intense. He’s a perfectionist, nearly obsessive about every single aspect of Minseok’s routine being correct. If Minseok’s legs don’t land in the exact position that Taemin wants them to, they restart. It’s exhausting, but it’s the thing that got Minseok to win Regionals two years back, so he can’t complain.

As much as he hates training, hates waking up at 4:30AM and not getting to rest until 8PM, his days feel a bit dull without practicing. No matter how many times he watches Oh Sehun’s heartstopping short programs, Kim Jongin’s triple axel compilations, it doesn’t help with the longing feeling he gets from not being on the rink for a long time. He says as much to Taemin over the phone, who laughs at him and says something about missing him on the rink.

His life isn’t completely empty, though, with the addition of Baekhyun. He’s wedged himself into Minseok’s life more than Minseok thought he would, texting and calling every day, making plans to come over and cook for him, inviting Minseok out to a new cute restaurant every week. It doesn’t get rid of Minseok’s sadness over not being able to skate, but it takes his mind off of it.

“Baekhyun,” Minseok says, catching the attention of his taller… friend. Or something, they haven’t really put words to it yet. When Baekhyun turns his head from the TV screen to Minseok’s face, he smiles at the lack of space between their faces.

“Yeah?” he responds, sounding a little out of breath. Minseok smiles, too. He leans in to kiss Baekhyun, soft and sweet, then he pulls away and watches Baekhyun’s ears go red. “What was that for?”

Minseok thinks if he could smile any more, Baekhyun would be seeing his molars. “I’m just… happy right now. You make life suck less, I think.” He doesn’t know why he’s struggling with his words now, but it looks like Baekhyun appreciates the awkwardly worded sentiment with the way he leans in again.

  
  


“Kim Minseok, you are officially cast-less,” Nurse Heo says, holding Minseok’s gross cast in his hand. “Dr. Lu says you have about a week before you can be back on the rink. You need to take it easy, though. Wanna keep it?” He waves the cast around.

Minseok shakes his head, resisting the urge to gag at the thought of that thing in his apartment.

“It’s been a long 3 months,” Minseok sighs. He takes a look at his leg. It’s still pretty gross looking, he definitely needs to take a very, very long shower as soon as Baekhyun drops him home. Speaking of, Baekhyun’s sitting in one of the chairs next to the examination bed with a peaceful smile on his face. That, or he’s drifting asleep. It’s 10am on a Saturday, so Minseok can’t blame him for that.

Baekhyun snaps up, though, when Minseok needs his help to walk out of the doctor’s office because it’s been three months since he’s walked on his legs, of course he needs help. Baekhyun does it happily, not complaining when Minseok winces directly in his ear every five seconds.

“You’re a godsend, Baekhyun,” he tells him when they reach the car.

Baekhyun offers to stay the night, insisting that he’ll feel better if he’s there just in case anything happens.

“I’m thinking of stealing Jongdae’s entire wardrobe,” Baekhyun says, tugging at the hem of Jongdae’s t-shirt. He left it at Minseok’s apartment a year ago and kept forgetting to retrieve it, but it worked out since Minseok is certain none of his clothes would fit Baekhyun.

“I don’t need two unfashionable nerds in my life, thank you,” Minseok teases, although the shirt does look really nice on Baekhyun. It’s some $10 Ed Hardy shirt with a big, intricately drawn dragon covering the front of it. The low collar exposes Baekhyun’s collarbones and the dark navy colour looks nice against his skin.

Baekhyun sticks his tongue out. “You’re just jealous that I look good in this.”

“You’d look better without it,” Minseok replies, and then realizes what he just said a second later. “I—”

“You’re cute,” Baekhyun cuts him off. He kisses him on the cheek and let’s his mistake go.

He really, really likes Baekhyun. Even the smallest things make his heart jump a little bit. When Baekhyun’s eyes wrinkle at the sides when he laughs, when he plays with the skin between his fingers during stressful movie scenes, when he bumps his leg into Minseok’s good leg playfully, when he feeds Minseok pieces of beef that are meant to go into their dinner, when—.

“Minseok, you’re zoning out,” he says with a laugh. “I’m just that handsome, I guess.”

Minseok reaches up, pulls Baekhyun down by the collar of his shirt until Minseok can press his lips against Baekhyun’s. They stumble back a bit, Baekhyun falling back into the bed. Minseok kisses him, soft and languid, until he pulls away to take a deep breath. He swears he can see the stars in Baekhyun’s eyes, then. Or maybe it’s just the reflection of Minseok’s ceiling lights, but it doesn’t matter.

  
  


Baekhyun’s job wasn’t something he liked to talk about. He’d mention work in passing, but never past that because, admittedly, it’s a boring job that nobody is all that interested in. He does math from 9-5 every weekday, it’s basically the worst part of high school on repeat. Or, at least, that’s what Minseok thinks.

Which is why it’s surprising that Baekhyun asks him to join him at the office for a party.

“It’s to celebrate the 30th year since the company was founded,” he explains. “I’m not really close with any of my coworkers and I didn’t want to be the weird alone guy, so. If you don’t have time, it’s alright.”

“I can make time,” Minseok replies. “Of course I’ll go with you.”

Baekhyun smiles at that, kisses Minseok’s temple. “You’re sweet.”

As it turns out, Minseok does have something scheduled for the night of the party, but he asks Jinki to postpone it. Jinki, kind-hearted Jinki, accepts begrudgingly. After all, it’s not like one missed meeting is going to be the end of Minseok’s career.

The first thing Minseok notices when they arrive at Baekhyun’s office is that it’s _huge._ He was expecting something small, like he’d seen in The Office, or something. But this, this is a huge tower office in Seoul with a billion windows and golden lettering on the front door. 

“This is not what I was expecting,” he comments.

Baekhyun chuckles, then reaches for Minseok’s hand. “Don’t be nervous,” he says, squeezing lightly. “It looks intimidating, but it’s really not bad.” 

He’s right, really. Once they get to the floor with Baekhyun’s office, Minseok sees that none of his coworkers look especially douche-y, in fact they’re all really nice. They greet Minseok happily, not a hint of homophobic energy in the entire room. One person, an older woman with a grey streak in her hair, even says that she recognizes him from the TV, which has a few people extremely curious about his work.

Once Minseok has introduced himself and talked about his job with nearly everyone there, Baekhyun pulls him aside to get away for a moment.

“They’re a little excited about meeting you, sorry,” he says when they reach his cubicle. It’s got a few printed pictures of some mountains and bridges taped onto the walls of it, along with bright green sticky notes on every surface.

“It’s fine,” Minseok assures him, “they’re really nice. None of them seem particularly grossed out by the fact that I’m here.” He leans against the wall of Baekhyun’s cubicle. “I feel a bit under dressed, though.” He gestures to his beige sweater and wool coat. Everyone else was wearing button downs, slacks, skirts, the works.

“They’re all just dressed like that because they didn’t come from home,” Baekhyun replies. “I think they’re more focused on the fact that I’m dating a figure skating champion, really. A handsome one, too. I think Karen might be a little jealous.”

Minseok laughs at that. “So, when does the party actually start, anyway?”

His boyfriend hums. “We’re a little bit early, I’m sure in five minutes or so, someone will come retrieve us. For now, we can stay here.”

“So… wanna make out?” Minseok asks after a moment of silence. They were working toward that, anyway.

“Great minds think alike,” Baekhyun says, leans in to catch Minseok’s lips in a kiss.

One of Baekhyun’s coworkers—the American, David, Minseok remembers—does come to call them over to join the rest of the party, thankfully not walking into Baekhyun’s cubicle. They pull apart, a bit flushed and admittedly kind of riled up, but they ignore it and make their way back to the party.

It’s nice, really. Baekhyun seems to be comfortable with Minseok there, joking with his coworkers and complaining about their higher-ups. He keeps his hand on the small of Minseok’s back for a majority of the night, and Minseok doesn’t bring any attention to it.

  
  


_“Baekhyun, my doctor says I am ok to skate again!! When can I take you?”_ he texts Baekhyun, then closes his phone before he can backtrack or over-justify himself. His phone beeps almost immediately after.

 _“I!!!! I’m so happy for you, Minseok!!!!!!! I’m available this weekend, oh great skater Minseok!!!!!!”_ the message reads, Minseok can _hear_ it. He smiles, replies to drop by on Friday night so that they can go early Saturday morning.

He’s thought a lot about getting back onto the rink. When Baekhyun isn’t there to occupy him, it’s all he can think about. The feeling of putting his skates on and touching the ice, spinning and speeding around the rink without a care in the world, he _needs_ that. The last few months have been so, so hard, because as soon as Baekhyun leaves, he’s confronted with just how much he misses skating. And now, he can _finally_ fucking do it again.

He has to resist the urge to go alone on Friday morning, knowing that if anything happened, nobody would be able to help him. He stares at his skates, the ones that have been tucked away in a box for months at the top of his closet. He touches one of the blades, shivers at how freezing it is.

“Minnie,” says Baekhyun. _That’s new,_ Minseok notes to himself, but doesn’t react on the outside. The nickname is nice. “You’re excited, aren’t you?”

Minseok nods, unable to hide the grin that creeps across his face. “Don’t make fun of me if I cry, okay? It’s been so long and I... Skating is really, really important to me, and since it’s been so many months without it, I just can’t imagine that I won’t be, like, uncontrollably crying the second I touch the ice.”

Baekhyun laughs softly, sinks down next to Minseok to look at the skates with him. “They’re pretty.”

They’re not, but Minseok appreciates that. They’re plain white skates, shining silver blades and black laces. They’re kind of dirty, too, despite not being used for so long. The leather has a lot of water damage. “You’re pretty,” he replies, not thinking much about it. He doesn’t backtrack this time.

Baekhyun’s expression softens and he gently tugs Minseok’s ear. “That was out of nowhere,” he mumbles.

“It really wasn’t, Baekhyun. You’re very pretty,” Minseok insists, nudging Baekhyun with his elbow lightly. Baekhyun falls back dramatically, crying out in fake pain. Minseok laughs at him, nudges his leg until Baekhyun’s laughing too.

When they calm down, Baekhyun is smiling and Minseok can’t help but do the same. “Hey,” Baekhyun says softly. “This… we’re dating, right?”

“Yes, yeah,” Minseok answers, like he hasn’t been waiting for that question forever. “I like you a lot, Baek.”

Baekhyun responds by sitting up and kissing him again and again. There’s the slightest, _slightest_ difference from these kisses and the other hundreds of kisses that they’ve shared, and Minseok decides that he likes that difference.

  
  


Walking back into the practice building already has Minseok feeling a familiar prickling behind his eyes. He has to look away to make sure Baekhyun can’t see it, because seriously, he’s already about to cry and they’re not even at the rink yet. He supposes the feeling is only enhanced because Baekhyun—the man that got him through his entire hiatus, that completely stole Minseok’s heart in just a few months—is there with him. 

“Jesus, shit, it’s really cold,” Baekhyun yelps when they enter the practice room. He looks back at Minseok, expression turning from shock at the temperature to an adoring one. “You can cry, if you need to. I won’t look.”

“No, it’s not that,” Minseok quickly clarifies. “You can look, it’s okay, I’m just really happy to be back. And with you, too, it’s so…” He can feel a lump form in his throat, so he stops, not wanting to speak incase his voice comes out wobbly.

Baekhyun pulls Minseok in for a hug, places his hand on the back of Minseok’s head and his other arm wraps around Minseok’s waist, pulling him close. “I’m happy too, Minnie.”

When Baekhyun releases Minseok after a few minutes of hugging in the empty, cold room, Minseok looks around and takes in his surroundings again. “Let’s get our skates on, I can’t wait anymore.” He doesn’t miss the smile on Baekhyun’s face at that.

The moment Minseok touches the ice again, his heart feels full. This is where he’s meant to be, where he’s always felt happy. Aside from the fall, he’s never been angry or upset on the rink. He blinks away the tears forming in his eyes, willing himself not to cry in front of Baekhyun.

Baekhyun’s skating is, unsurprisingly, atrocious. No, Minseok didn’t expect him to be landing loops or anything, but he didn’t think Baekhyun would struggle to even balance on his skates. “Maybe,” Baekhyun says, breathing heavily when he makes his way to the wall of the rink, “you go first, I can just watch you.”

“Okay, okay.” Minseok laughs and leads Baekhyun off the ice. “It’s been a long time, so if I mess up, that’s why.” He pauses before adding, “can you look up ‘Otonal’ on YouTube? I’ll do an old routine of mine.”

Baekhyun scrambles to get his phone, then quickly types up the song while Minseok gets used to the ice again. With the song blaring through Baekhyun’s phone speakers, Minseok begins.

He skates around a bit aimlessly for a moment, stalling because he can’t remember his first jump in this program and it’s not like Baekhyun will even notice. _Fuck it, I’m too old to remember anything, anyway,_ he thinks, and just decides to make it all up from there.

The first jump, a simple toe loop, is exhilarating already. He can feel Baekhyun’s eyes on him, although his cheers are drowned out by the sound of Minseok’s heart beating through his ears. He lands, scraping the ice with the blade of his skate. It feels so good, like the last three months were almost worth it because now he’s back on the ice, fucking finally.

He continues making shit up. A double Salchow and a toe loop, a single Axel, double toe loop, double Lutz, until he realizes he probably shouldn’t be exerting himself so much when he just recovered. He skates to the entrance where Baekhyun is still holding on to the wall for dear life. “Hi,” he says, his chest rising and falling heavily.

“You look really happy,” Baekhyun comments. “I’ve never seen you this happy.”

“You’ve never seen me on ice,” Minseok points out. “And you’re here too, so it’s amplified. I’m really happy.”

“And out of breath.” Baekhyun hands Minseok his half-finished bottle of water.

“Always looking out for me,” Minseok says and downs a third of the water. “Let me catch my breath, and then I wanna take you onto the ice again. I’ll teach you.”

Baekhyun smiles, and Minseok returns it. 

Baekhyun is a quick learner, and within ten minutes he’s moving across the rink with ease. “It feels like I’m flying,” he says. “I think I get why you love this so much.”

Minseok can’t help but smile and watch his boyfriend—oh, man, _boyfriend,_ that sounds incredible—with adoration as he moves fluidly from one side of the rink to the other.

“Let’s dance together,” Minseok suggests, holding out his arm for Baekhyun to take. When Baekhyun manages to grab on, just barely slipping past him entirely, Minseok pulls him close. There’s no music, no sound other than their breaths, but Minseok wants to dance. He wants to move with Baekhyun, to have him close.

They move around together for a minute, their fingers laced together as they skate—Minseok leading them—until Minseok lets go of Baekhyun’s hand and spins him, smiling at Baekhyun’s surprised yelp. He spins him again, this time in the opposite direction so that Baekhyun lands against his chest, Minseok’s arm wrapped around him. Baekhyun looks at him expectantly, his lips parted as he waits for Minseok to do something, anything. Minseok takes his free and hand cups Baekhyun’s jaw before he closes the gap between them.

When they reluctantly pull apart, giving each other a chance to breathe, Minseok finds himself searching for something in Baekhyun’s sparkling eyes. He swallows, looks back down at Baekhyun’s lips, and pulls him in for another kiss.

  
  


“I’m basically cupid!” Jongdae exclaims, a giant obnoxious grin stretched across his face. “So I was right to force you into going on a date, right?”

“Yeah, fine, whatever,” Minseok sighs. “If it had been anyone besides Baekhyun, I probably would’ve murdered you.”

“That’s such a sweet sentiment, Minseok,” Baekhyun chimes from the kitchen.

It had been a long day of practice with Taemin, who scolded Minseok for not telling him that he was able to skate again pretty much non-stop for the twelve hours they were together. It was 6pm, Minseok had just gotten back to his apartment, and Jongdae had invited himself over. Which, really wasn’t a bad thing, but Minseok feels a bit bad that he’s the single third wheel.

Jongdae doesn’t look too upset, though, mostly he just looks excited to eat whatever Baekhyun is making. He all but launches off the couch when Baekhyun begins to put plates on the table. 

“Tonkatsu,” Baekhyun says. “I also made some extra rice.”

 _What an adorable house-husband,_ Minseok thinks, then shakes the thought away. _Jesus Christ, Minseok._

Baekhyun’s cooking is really incredible. He doesn’t seem like the type to be good in the kitchen, too bubbly and jumpy and kind of easily distracted, but he manages to make something delicious every time he cooks. And Minseok makes sure to tell him that, followed by a kiss on the cheek.

“Thank you, Minnie.” Baekhyun smiles.

“So, how’s practice? It must be hard since you’ve just barely recovered and all,” Jongdae asks.

Minseok shrugs, sitting down. “Taemin was less… intense. But of course, that just means he made me do one less of every jump than normal. I’m doing well, though. Finally landed a triple toe loop.”

Jongdae, clueless as to what that means, nods. He’s a skier, not a skater, so Minseok doesn’t expect him to know what he’s talking about. “I’m glad. I was a little worried for a while, Minseok. Thank God for Baekhyun, though. I can’t imagine where you’d be right now without him.”

“Yeah, he’s incredible,” Minseok replies, looking at Baekhyun. He catches the way Baekhyun’s cheeks have gone red, the way the younger man is poorly hiding his grin, and he smiles too.


End file.
